Jack and Loz at the Cottage - Season Review 2017/18

[Friendsoffulham]

Jack and Loz at the Cottage - Season Review 2017/18
POSITION: 3rd in the Championship and Play Off Final Winners!

POINTS: 88

GOALS SCORED: 79

GOALS CONCEDED: 46

NUMBER OF CLEAN SHEETS: 17 (including play-offs)

OUR FAVOURITE (NON-PLAYOFF) GAMES: Wolves home, Burton home, Barnsley away

OUR LEAST FAVOURITE GAMES: Bristol City, QPR and Brentford (all at home)

PLAYERS OF THE SEASON:- (you can't just have one in a season like this!)

MOST IMPRESSIVE: Tim Reeeeeeeeeeeeeam

MOST INFLUENTIAL: Kevin McDonald

MOST INSTRUMENTAL: Tom Cairney

MOST INSPIRATIONAL: Ryan Sessegnon, 18

MOST INFLAMMABLE: Mitro 🔥🔥🔥

EMOTIONS OF THE SEASON: euphoria and disbelief

HIGHLIGHTS: Getting to Wembley, going to Wembley, being at Wembley, Tom's goal at Wembley, winning at Wembley (plus: Ayite's goal against Villa at the Cottage, the annihilation of Villa and Wolves as part of the "difficult six game run" and the impact of Mitro)

LOWLIGHTS: the losses at Sunderland and Birmingham and the lat minute Brentford equaliser (although only at the time!)

Fulham's 2016/17 season, whilst a good one in many ways, ended in frustration and disappointment with the undeserved and, indeed, unfair loss to Reading in the play-off semi finals. But Fulham were the best footballing side in those play-offs and we had seen enough flair and confidence from the players and enough taciturn tactical excellence from Slavisa Jokanovic to finish our season review with a bold prediction: next season is ours.

The summer transfer window boded well - no major departures except Sone Aluko and the arrival of two strikers, Abou Kamara and Rui Fonte. The absence of any Newcastle or Brighton-like firm favourites for the title was also promising. But much depended on starting the season where we'd finished the last one and whilst two strikers were better than none both were unknown quantities. Pre-season was as unreliable as ever and so when the Fulham Faithful gathered at Craven Cottage on the 5th of August to face our old friends Norwich the season stretched before us like an unwritten book: a thriller in the making.

YOU ONLY SCORE TWICE

It is very tempting in a review of last season to skim over the first half - the despondency, the disappointments, the frustrations - but unfortunately we can't do that: the points scraped together and the lessons learned before Christmas all contributed to what happened afterwards.

The fixtures computer spewed out a tough start for Fulham with the first few games being against the previous season's other top 8 finishers. Very rapidly the hope we felt in May evaporated as old habits came back to haunt us: giving the ball away cheaply, misplacing passes, wasting chances, the list goes on. The season began with a series of bad draws and an even worse loss to Sheffield Wednesday. Even in our first home win of the season against Hull we only played well for part of the match and clung on to the lead in a panic strewn, chaotic last ten minutes.

Only away at Ipswich was there a glimmer of hope and a hint of the drama which was to come: a spectacular debut for Rui Fonte, an inspired performance from Ojo, a reminder of what Kebano can do when he's on form. But this promising game was overshadowed by those around it. By the time we had drawn with Middlesbrough and lost away at bottom-feeders Burton we were mired in mid table and already out of touch with the top 6.

We knew, even then, that the points dropped could well be the difference between finishing 2nd or 3rd and the most galling and worrying part of it was that we weren't dropping points because we were shipping goals, it was because we weren't scoring enough. Most of the disappointing draws were 1-1. If we could have scored more than 1 goal in a match we would have been sitting on a lot more points by the end of September. As it was, there was already the sense that time was running out.

THE HUNT FOR POINTS IN OCTOBER

October began with a small improvement on the 1-1 draws: a 2-2 draw with Preston in which Dennis Odoi displayed, portentously, his propensity for scoring vital goals and Preston's gamesmanship, like that of many teams at Craven Cottage (including, it would be revealed, Fulham's) came back to haunt them. But the performance against Preston was by no means convincing and we were soon back to our favourite score line against Bolton having passed the ball to death, wasted myriad chances and generally reverted to type.

By the time we had lost to both Bristol City and Wolves in the space of 4 days our hopes of promotion seemed like flights of fancy. Tom Cairney wasn't fully fit and his was only one name on a long injury list, we had lost the ability to score goals never mind to win games, the ructions behind the scenes at Motspur Park were threatening to spill onto the pitch and the future looked bleak.

WHERE BADGERS DARE

We stopped the rot with another (yes, you guessed it!) 1-1 draw, this time against Derby. It was a better game. There were too many passes but they were quick and meaningful, our set pieces were more confident and we played with a sense of urgency that had been missing since May. This reassuring game was followed by more evidence of our extreme inconsistency: the breathtaking goal fest at Bramall Lane in which Ryan Sessegnon, 17, scored a hatrick, the dismal loss to Brentford, the scraped together victories over Birmingham and Millwall. Against the Blades there was drive, daring and determination, against Brentford disarray and against Birmingham a combination of desperation and just a tiny hint of what might come - what this team could do if it was fully focused and in top gear.

But then we crashed to our lowest point - not as low as those calling for Slav's sacking seemed to think but a nadir all the same - the loss away to (of all people's) Chris Coleman's Sunderland, a team which hadn't won for epochs and a game in which we scored precisely zero goals.

The misery and frustration we all felt after the Sunderland defeat was perhaps why the following match (the first win over Barnsley) didn't feel in any way special. It was good to see a strong performance from Ayite and a lively one from Kebano. The 2-1 score line didn't reflect our dominance and overall it was an enjoyable afternoon but there was no premonition, no sense that this was the start of something incredible, no feeling that our destiny was at that point already carved in stone.

FROM SERBIA WITH LOVE

Following a successful festive period, which we still didn't realise was in any way ominous, things began to take off as we moved into Slav's favourite half of the season. We unleashed hell against Ipswich scoring 4 goals in 7 minutes, admittedly against 10 men but 11 or even 12 could not have stood against the onslaught.

Other than the narrow loss to Southampton in the FA cup in which we showed how close we were to premier league level, we won every game we played in January. This was when the magic really started: the last minute penalty against Middlebrough, the perfect game against Burton where we rectified one of our mistakes from the previous year and hardened our hearts against weaker opposition, the second victory over Barnsley where Kevin McDonald inspired the team to an emphatic if scrappy victory. By then we were in 6th place and had the best form of any team in England, form that wouldn't change for the rest of the season.

Matttttt TTTTargetttt arrived in mid January and we liked him immediately as he walked out out at Barnsley and turned to applaud the Fulham fans. We liked him even more when he started playing. Even better, his arrival meant that Ryan Sessegnon, 17, could play further forward, a change he celebrated immediately by scoring the equaliser.

But despite the resurgence of Fonte in the Burton game we all knew that a piece of the puzzle was missing: a strong, skilful striker sized piece. A man who could set hearts racing when he touched the ball inside the box, a man who could create a chance out of nothing, a man whose menacing exterior belied his passionate heart. As midnight chimed on deadline day a new hero entered the action: Aleksandar Mitrovic, shimmering with heat and danger.

As February began the dominance continued. We beat a good Nottingham Forest side 2-0 in a clinical, business-like game in which you could see the mentality of the team had improved: this was a group of players who believed in themselves and each other, who believed they could win and keep on winning. Slav had taught them ruthlessness as well as relentless possession and imposed on them his own fierce intensity and ambition.

That victory moved us up to the uncharted territory of 5th in the league; the long, long run for home had begun and finally, nervously, cautiously at first, we started to believe.

DIGITAL FORTRESS FULHAM

In the middle of February we began what looked on paper to be our hardest run of the season - we would play almost all the teams above and around us, including Wolves, already (and deservedly) champions elect. It was a run of games which would terrify less forbidding managers than Slav, less minatory strikers than Mitro and less talented captains than Tom Cairney. No challenge was too great for Fulham to overcome. And overcome in style.

The only slip in that treacherous run was a draw away to Bristol and even that featured Mitro's first goal for Fulham. The other 5 matches were a quintet of near faultless team performances: the destruction of Villa, the domination of Wolves, the fight to the finish at Derby, the brushing aside of Norwich and the devastation of Sheffield United. Against all these excellent sides we were simply outstandingly good. The home matches in particular demonstrated we were ready for a better league: spectacular goals (Ayite against Villa, Mitro against Wolves, Cairney against the Blades) clean sheets from the unflappable Marcus and the unshakable Tim Ream, dynamism and control from the midfield Musketeers, one for all and all for one in their pursuit of glory.

As the unbeaten run continued fears that it would end increased but one thing was incontrovertible: Craven Cottage was a fortress once more - the message to visiting teams was clear: you can't win here.

These unFulhamish displays were rapidly followed by the twist in the tale. While high-flying opponents had been easily beaten, weaker teams proved tougher tests. The draw with QPR was like an match of two halves of old - we were back to too many passes and panicking instead of seeing the game out. But it wasn't all bad news - that result broke Fulham's unbeaten games record and unexpectedly elevated us to third in the table - a position we would never fall below.

In April Leeds came to Craven Cottage and so did something which we had rued the lack of for a season and a half: Fulham's Plan B. Far too often when the pretty passes didn't work, when we couldn't play out from the back, when there was endless possession but no end product there was no alternative strategy. But now we saw it: if you can't win the game with passes, win it with passion: fight to claim the ball, fight to keep it, fight to score, fight to win. Suddenly we were a team of tough tacklers and brave battlers, none more courageous than our fancy footed captain who had learnt how to grapple for the ball as well as dance with it.

The fighting spirit was needed as form began to dip over the next few games and tiredness set in. We ground out a win against Reading, meaning we briefly grasped the promised land of second place. But Brentford snatched that away from us as both Plans A and B failed, nerves set in, gamesmanship bit back and desperate defending only delayed the inevitable and fateful last minute equaliser.

We showed our quality in the second half away at Millwall and our fighting spirit at home against Sunderland who played without fear and with nothing left to lose. As the regular season drew to a close we saw Kamara fulfil his early potential, Mitro, who kissed the badge when he scored against Sunderland, promise us his future and, Ryan Sessegnon, still only 17, come of age as he fought harder than anyone to secure promotion for the team he loves. Then the cliff-hanger came at Birmingham when both our unbeaten run and our hopes of second place came to an abrupt and ugly end.

But the best was yet to come.

WHITE STORM RISING

Fulham's play-off experiences before 2018 have been universally bad, culminating in daylight robbery in the semi final by Reading last season. Slav and the team have learnt from that experience. The game management in the semi final was impeccable. Derby might have won a slim victory at Pride Park but the tie was always under Slav's control. At the Cottage Fulham played a high tempo, merciless game, constantly driving forward, never letting up, running the Rams ragged. Once again we saw the steel beneath the silky skills. In the cauldron of noise which filled our old ground the teenage Ryan Sessegnon created a moment in time and space to pick his spot and score the first goal then Dennis Odoi made time stand still with a soaring header that propelled us, for the first time in 43 years, to Wembley.

How many times have you watched Tom Cairney's goal? How many times have you watched the whole game? And the celebrations afterwards? And the interviews? How often do you find yourself singing "Mitro's on Fire", and picturing Dennis climbing onto the goal, and Marcus with the flare?

Do you still remember those last 25 minutes of dread when we were down to 10 men and the Premier League was so near but so far? Do you sometimes imagine what might have been if Jack Grealish hadn't spent so much time rolling around with a dislocated shin pad but had bothered to do his job and score?

But then do you forget about Jack Grealish and his old, past-it team mate and remember that they don't matter anymore? Because we won. We won in the White Heat of Wembley. And we are Premier League.

THE DEFENDER WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD

Tim Ream played nearly every match of 2017/18 and he played most of them flawlessly. To be named as Player of the Season in a promotion winning team including Tom Cairney, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ryan Sessegnon, 18, is an outstanding achievement but fully deserved for a man who who has been consistent, solid and often creative under pressure.

Alongside Ream we have seen both Tomas Kalas and hero to zero to hero to zero to hero to zero to climbing on top of the goal Dennis Odoi. Versatile and hard-working, Dennis deserved his long run in the side and his many moments of brilliance outweighed his few Freudian slips. It will be interesting to see, however, if either of them partners Ream next season.

At right back Ryan Fredericks was adventurous, athletic, fast and furious. He was the driver behind many attacks and the key to many last ditch defences. He leaves for his sideways move to West Ham with our best wishes - he could have left in January but he stayed and gave 100% to the promotion effort and he was a stand out player for much of his time at Fulham.

The season began with Ryan Sessegnon, then 17, stepping up to replace Scott Malone. Ryan played so well at the back that fans of clubs who mistakenly thought he could (ever) be enticed away from the club where he belongs thought that this was his natural position. Fulham fans and, more importantly, Slav knew better. Enter stage left back: Matttt Ttttargetttt. Terrific, tenacious and a lot tougher than he appears Matt not only allowed Ryan, 17, to play further forward but was also a naturally brilliant left back who mirrored Fredericks' marauding down the right with some swashbuckling of his own down the left. The two full backs were of course able to get so far forward so often because of the defensive bulwark provided by Ream and the others - any danger was simply cut off at the pass.

Fulham conceded 9 fewer goals than the previous season although more than all the teams who finished around us. However, with either David Button or the marvellous Marcus Bettinelli behind them the defence was close to impermeable in many games. Button came in for some criticism early on which was mainly unjust but, some wayward distribution aside, Marcus has proved himself the better keeper, undoubtedly one of the best in the Championship.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN FEET

Last year, Tom Cairney was our Player of the Season. He had it all: skill, finesse, creativity, presence, lovely hair. This season has been different. There have been injury worries, a flirtation with West Ham. For a while he was replaced by Oliver Norwood on the pitch and by Kevin McDonald in the dressing room. Much of the team's meteoric ascent of the table took place without him. Our admiration wavered for a while but as the season gathered pace and the race for promotion became a sprint finish Tom showed what he is really made of. He masterminded the masterclass against Wolves, he owned the Cottage pitch against Villa and then ruined them in every sense of the word at Wembley.

And as if that wasn't enough he didn't just lead us when the going was easy and the goals were flowing. Despite hedging his bets in January he wasn't a fair weather captain. Slav's Plan B worked because Tom wasn't afraid to pull up his socks, roll up his sleeves and mess up his hair and lead the team into the toughest battles. He didn't pass his away around Leeds or glide his way

through Reading - he fought and scrapped and forced them aside. He is both style and substance and, after scoring the winning goal at Wembley, he has the world at this golden feet.

Behind every charismatic hero there is a faithful lieutenant who keeps out of the limelight and does all the hard work. He is often unnoticed but always essential. When he has to step up to centre stage he does it without hesitation and with an assurance that makes you wonder if he hasn't been the hero all along. Kevin McDonald wore the captain's arm band for the first time in the draw against Cardiff in September. It suited him and he suited the role of Fulham captain: vocal, brave, determined, no-nonsense. Kevin brings grit, organisation and leadership to the side even when Tom is playing. This season he brought goals too and won a long overdue Scotland cap. One of things we are looking forward to most about next season is seeing Kevin McDonald take his rightful place in the Premier League.

One day, books will be written about Ryan Sessegnon, 18. Indeed, we are already looking forward to reading his autobiography: The Sessegnon Sessions - How I Won The Quadruple With Fulham. It is sufficient for the purposes of this blog to say that it has been our pleasure and privilege to watch Ryan develop as a player this season. He was one of the most vital components in the Fulham package with some towering, tireless performances and goals galore. He is mature beyond his years, thoughtful, humble and loyal. He really is the whole footballing package at a ridiculously young age: speed, strength, shooting power, accuracy and the most important thing of all: the eerie sixth sense that means he is in the right place at the right time in every move of the game. The ball seems to fall at his feet but the fact is, he knows where the ball is going to fall before it has even been kicked. He truly is a unique talent and, even better, his prowess at the game is matched only by his passion for Fulham.

The other slots in midfield were filled mainly by Stefjo and Oliver Norwood. Compared to last season Stefjo was inconsistent: sometimes (Hull at home) unplayable, sometimes (Preston at home) anonymous. But often he was the engine room of the team, assiduous in his efforts and skilled in his shooting. It wasn't his best year but we would have missed him if he wasn't there. Norwood has been the uncomplaining understudy, always ready and willing to play any midfield role. With Tom's injury issues and wandering eye he was an invaluable stabilising influence on many occasions. Often, including at Wembley, he came on as a substitute and shored up the team and we have had no better penalty taker since the great Danny Murphy.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER STRIKER

In every drama there is a larger than life character, someone to whom all eyes are drawn. Mitro plays football with his heart on his sleeve, his ear to the crowd and fire in his belly (possibly literally). He smouldered into the side against Forest and immediately looked strong and predatory. He sizzled against Villa then blazed onto the scoresheet at Bristol with the first of his 12 goals. We saw almost nothing to give credence to his dubious reputation. We saw only hard work, great technical ability and a searing power only barely contained. Ambition is a Serbian trait: while Slav broods with it Mitro burns. All he wants to do is play football, score goals and win. He was a tremendous asset to us in the second half of the season and hopefully it is a matter of how much we will pay for him rather than if he will stay.

The problem child of Slav's line up all season was the second striker or, later on, who could play on the right to balance Ryan Sessegnon,17, on the left. Piazon brings grace to the role and Ayite defensive ability. Kebano's busy and bustling style is brilliant for a substitute but not so good for a starter. Ojo had his moments but they were few and far between. Whilst Fonte has been the subject of criticism his attitude as an unselfish team player often justified his selection and his qualities may well come in useful in the Premier League. In the end, despite some poor touches and rash decision making usually borne of being overly keen to score, AK proved himself and entirely deserved his part in the playoffs. His speed, power, tendency to create havoc and acute unpredictability make him unplayable if sometimes frustrating.

THE DAY OF THE JOKA

Slavisa Jokanovic won more than just promotion to the Premier League last season. He won an important battle with the Khans over the use of statistics in selecting transfer targets with the undignified departure of Craig Kline from Motspur Park. It may well not be a coincidence than shortly after this the 23 game unbeaten run started and it is certainly no coincidence that the 3 arrivals in the January transfer window were exactly who Slav wanted and exactly what the team needed.

The serbperlative Slav has given us absorbing and entertaining football to watch, exciting players, dozens of goals and the holy grail of a victory at Wembley. Gruff, terse and harder to understand than a meerkat at times his body language when Tom scored against Villa said it all.

As good as the players have been its Slav's coaching and tactics which have pushed their talents to another level and which brought out the fighting spirit which was so important when flair and finesse were failing. It's also worth noting his superior game management - there were very few games in which we switched off, 3 in which had late, late equalisers and 4 in which we scored last minute winners. He made some odd Slavisitutions at times but that was really the only valid criticism of him last season - anyone calling for his sacking after the defeat to Sunderland very quickly ate their words. And that has been Slav's other victory this season: he was won the hearts and souls of even the most cynical Fulham fans. We all know now we could not have had a better manager last season and we can't wait to see what he can do in the next one.

THE KHAN IDENTITY

There are some bad owners in football. People who treat a club like a play thing which they tire of and then neglect. We have seen that most recently when Tom Cairney accidentally kicked Aston Villa close to insolvency with his left foot. At Fulham however, we have no such concerns. Shahid Khan bought the club for business purposes, it was a commercial decision made purely with his head. But at some point between his arrival in Fulham and his arrival at Wembley on the 26th of May something had changed for Mr Khan: to his surprise, but not to ours, and perhaps even against his will he has fallen in love with Fulham Football Club. It is no longer an investment, a publicity vehicle or UK foothold, it is his passion and his priority.

Mr Khan is not only sensible, ambitious and fanatical about Fulham, he is also rather charming. We loved his heartfelt message before the final. We liked the most recent one even more where, like a fan, he analysed the fixtures, like a long term supporter he called Roy Hodgson an old friend and, most of all, like a good mate told us to carry on celebrating promotion. Which we will.

FULHAM ARE FOREVER

This really was a sublime season. 23 matches unbeaten in one of the most unpredictable leagues in the world; several flawless games including the domination of Wolves; infinitely entertaining football, world class team work and the emergence, finally, of a different, tougher, way to play which was also enjoyable to watch. Our talented, technical players didn't win promotion just by precision passing and clever creativity. They learnt to grind out gritty victories, they lost the tendency to panic when defending a narrow lead and they acquired a touch of ruthlessness and the physicality to use it. For every problem there was a well- thought, well-fought solution, for (almost) every opposition there was a way to beat them. This was a consummate, season-long display of how to play football and how to get promoted.

And then there was Wembley. A day we will never forget. One of the greatest days in the history of the oldest club in London. A day which sets us up for the future. Slav and his players have changed the definition of Fulhamish for the better. We are no longer Little Fulham, and we're ready for the big time.

The Premier League has been missing something for the last 4 years - a touch of class, an understated style, a club with an innate sense of fair play; sophistication in black and white. It is exciting to anticipate what Slav and his team can achieve in the top league. There is no reason why we can't become a tour de force and every reason to expect more entertainment and more artistry. Some of that fighting spirit might come in handy too....

Slav and the team deserve promotion and so do the fans. From the low points of the last few years all the way to Wembley its been an unbelievable ride and it's only going to get better. Get ready Premier League, Fulham are on our way!

https://werdsmith.com/p/HzaVaGXVCY

[kiwian]

Brilliant summary of the season-well done.

[toshes mate]

Not just a good summary but a beautifully written one too.  I loved all the 'sectional' film/book references.  Brilliant.